


No Life But Peace

by Jamie_Aizen



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Actions has consequences, Gen, Hurt Wanda Maximoff, Religion, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Maximoffs needed help, not wanda maximoff friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2019-10-06 23:59:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17355113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jamie_Aizen/pseuds/Jamie_Aizen
Summary: If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.-Romans 12:18As she waits for the execution date, Wanda Maximoff is confronted by someone from her past and maybe finds peace in her coming death.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Reflections](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15796119) by [Ana (Anafandom)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anafandom/pseuds/Ana). 



> This came to me after I reread the Second Chances series by Ana(Anafandom) for the 7th time
> 
> I was wondering what Wanda was thinking of as she spent the rest of her days confined and waiting for the day of her execution. As much as she has done, the sad thing that keeps bothering me is that she spent her whole life trying to take revenge against Stark for a bomb that while he made, did not control over who used it. I felt like if someone had gotten to Wanda and Pietro when they were younger and sat them down and help them (or even better, removed them from the negative environment that was Sokovia at the time), I feel like maybe they wouldn't have been so quick to jump at Hydra's offer.
> 
> I have mix feelings for Wanda. I wanted to like her but they ruined her character and in trying to rush out a female character to appease the masses, they have ruined her potential. 
> 
> This is my attempt in working out my feelings for her. As you can read in the tags, it is not Wanda-friendly but in a way where she has presented truths about her life. Please be a mature adult. If this is not your kind of fic, then don't read it. 
> 
> Leave.
> 
> It is like going to a movie theater or clicking on a porn site. This is your choice to view it and by continuing onward you have agreed to read it. If the comments get to be too much, I will turn on comment moderation. I didn't write this to be abuse, I wrote because I wanted to sort my emotions.
> 
> Many thanks to ToxicAngel13 for discussions and ideas as well as proofreading my mess. I owe you one!!

_“-Wanda Maximoff is scheduled to be executed within several days. There have been cries from those who are against the death penalty but many agree that in a situation like this, there is no alternative punishment.”_

 

_“That is correct, Nancy. To reiterate, the United Nations have voted and agreed to put Maximoff to death due to her crimes and the state of her powers. Many conclude that if the U.N was able to take away her abilities, that she would be instead imprisoned. However, they must think of the public’s safety. Maximoff has shown time and time again that she is not stable and that she is willing to hurt others to get her way…”_

 

_“I shudder to think what would happen if she wasn’t contained, Stephen-”_

 

**_*click*_ **

 

The elderly gentlemen sit in his navy armchair, staring at the now blank screen of his television. He licks his lips and places the remote on his desk. The man leans back into his chair, sighing as he rubs his right temple.

 

He sits there in the dark for a few moments, various thoughts flying through his head.

 

Once the man made his decision, he reached over to pick up the phone.

 

He had a former child to confront.

 

* * *

Sometimes Wanda wishes she was dreaming.

 

She had hoped that every time she fell asleep, she would wake up to see her brother standing over her with breakfast in hand and a smile on his face.

 

Those were innocent times, memories that she keeps close to her heart.

 

Sometimes she humors herself and tried to imagine the apartment she shared with her brother. The scent of the baked goods the old woman from downstairs would give them. The quiet moments where she and Pietro would sit and watch the city and the stars outside their living room window.

 

These memories were all she had to keep her sane these last few days of her life.

 

Wanda looks around her cell, sighing at how dim and jaded the walls were. She hates them, as they remind her that the freedom that she so desperately sought was just outside these walls. That every time she tried to reach out to grasp the ideal, it would slip through her fingers.

The first few days when she was incarcerated, she had spent the time screaming and slamming her body into the walls. She had beaten against the collar that mute her powers, hoping force would destroy it. Rage was her friend at that moment and she remembers every threat she made to Stark, to Rogers, and to the damn world.

 

However, her anger quickly became sorrow and depression as the timeline to her execution drew closer. She spent the last few weeks crying and begging, even though she knew they have fallen on deaf ears.

 

It hurts to think that her life was ending like this- put down like damn, derange dog as they called her.

 

Wanda sniffs again, wiping another tear from her eye. She was surprised that she continued to shed tears but deep down she would admit she was scared. She was frightened and lonely, only having her imagination to keep her in the reality of her making.

 

Sniffing again, Wanda decides to lay in her cot, hoping that maybe she could get another dream with Pietro when she heard the locks to her cell clink. She sits up and watches in wonder as the main guard opens her door. She can see there are 4 other security officials with their weapons ready to incapacitate her if she tries anything.

 

“Maximoff, you have a visitor. They want to see you. Up to you if you want to meet them.”

 

Wanda licks her lips. She couldn’t think of anyone that would be willing to meet with her. She didn’t make a lot of friends and those that were wouldn’t be foolish enough to admit that they knew her. Pietro was dead and the only other person Wanda believed would visit would be Vision.

 

But she’s not so hopeful these days

 

Wanda stands and nods. “Yes, I will meet with them.”

* * *

Walking down the hallway of the facility with the collar on her neck and hands bound behind her back was humiliating. Wanda wanted to put up a fuss about it but the curiosity of seeing who requested her halted her actions and she complied.

 

The main guard was in front leading her while two guards were on each side and one was at the rear. She wanted to sneer at such mockery. She was powerless, there was not a damn thing she could do to them and yet they treat her as if she was a deranged creature that would lash out.

 

She feels humiliated but wisely keeps her mouth shut.

 

As they drew closer to the secured room, Wanda’s thoughts turn to the mystery visitor. Again a small part of her wished it was Vision but she knew that wasn’t the case. The android had chosen his side and a part of her blame herself for not realizing what she was setting herself for. She had forgotten that he was Stark’s AI, no matter how autonomy Vision claims he has. Sooner or later, he would have turned against her and whatever love she had for him died when he placed that collar around her neck.

 

Another thought was an agent of Hydra, willing to spring her so she could be of use again. While not the most positive outcome, it would be better than being executed. But Wanda wasn’t stupid. She knew that organization washed their hands of her now that it was shown that her loyalties could easily be bought. Wanda could have easily made contact with the higher-ups and let them know that she was still with them. But she never did and with the murder of Baron Strucker, she knew that they wouldn’t risk their necks for her when she was proven uncontrollable.

 

They finally reach the steel gray door and after knocking on it three times, it opens to reveal a white room. There is a gray steel table in the middle of the area with two chairs. An older man is sitting in one of them, reading paperwork in a manila folder when he looks up. He was dressed in a black long woolen coat that had a matching hat that was set off to the side. Glasses sat at the end of his nose and his gray beard stop at his chest.

 

Wanda could see he had wrinkles and the marking of someone who had lived a long and hard life. The eyes were gray and they had a softness about them that reminded her of what a grandfather would have.

 

His face was familiar but for the life of her, Wanda couldn’t remember where she had seen him from.

 

“Ah, thank you very much for allowing her to come,” the man says as place the papers off to the side. “I’m going to assume it would be too much to ask for privacy?”

 

The main guard shakes his head as one of the other officers leads Wanda to the table. “Unfortunately the prisoner cannot be left alone with another person. She is to be viewed with no less than 4 security officers at this time.”

 

Wanda wants to growl at that statement but focus on staring at the table as her hands are transferred from her back to the being chained to the table in front of her.

 

“Fair enough,” the elderly gentleman replies. “And the time limit?”

 

“No more than 30 minutes, Father Donovan.”

 

Wanda looks up at the man suddenly, as the name brought up memories from her youth.

 

‘It couldn’t be…’

 

The priest gave Wanda a sad smile. “Hello, Wanda. Long time no see I suppose.”

 

* * *

 

Father Donovan watch as the guards each head to the corner of the room while the main guard took his position at the door. While he wished that they could have privacy, he knew it was for security reasons and he could not blame them.

 

Donovan scanned over the young woman, trying to find the little girl that he rescued from the broken building decades ago.

 

He remembers the Maximoff twins, the famous children who survived the bombing of their house. He was one of the people who had heard Wanda’s coughing and realizing that someone was alive, manage to direct rescue workers to save them. He took them in at the time, as the orphanage in the city suffered from the shelling.

 

He became close to the twins, taking extra care to make sure they were well and gave a small memorial service for their parents.

 

Donovan stares at Wanda, who at his gaze, flinched away. A part of him still remembers the shivering, sick little girl he carried from the destroyed home and fed soup to calm her down.

 

However, he looks down at the cuffs around her wrist and sighs.

 

She was no longer the child who he gave candy and read stories to. She was someone else, someone he did not recognize.

* * *

Donovan sighed again as he taps his finger on the table. “Long time no see, Wanda,” he starts. “I had always entertained about coming back to Sokovia and seeing how you and your brother were but never like this.”

 

Wanda snorts as she jiggles her wrist, causing the handcuffs to clank against the table.

 

“What,” she sneers. “Collared and chained like some damn animal?”

 

The priest raises one of his eyebrows. “I meant as a criminal. You can’t possibly believe that after everything you have done that you don’t deserve to be punished.”

 

The woman snarls at him. “I’m locked up because they fear me! Because they don’t understand what I had to do! I was betrayed by people who I trusted and claimed to care for me!”

 

Donovan didn’t flinch during her rant, only staring at her. “What you had to do,” he repeats. “Exactly what did you have to do?”

 

Wanda swallows, trying to gather her thoughts before speaking. “What needed to be done. Stark had to pay- for my parents, for the lives that he ruined, for everything!!”

 

The woman slumps down back into the chair. “That’s why I joined Hydra- they were willing to give me the means to destroy Stark. To make him pay!”

 

Donovan takes a deep breath. “I seem to remember telling you that thinking like that is dangerous.”

 

“Stark is dangerous,” Wanda yells. “Look at what his weapons have done to our home! The world knows it yet they want to kiss that man’s ass because he’s rich and famous!”

 

“I could have sworn I had slapped that kind of thinking out of your mind but obviously, I didn’t do it hard enough.”

 

Wanda rears back as if he did indeed hit her, a shock expression on her face.

 

Donovan continues talking as if he didn’t notice Wanda’s gasps. “When I took you in, you were sad and bitter. Depressed. I didn’t want you to grow numb so I allowed you to express your feelings. However, the sadness in you turned to rage and hatred. You would rant against the man named Stark, saying disturbing things about someone who didn’t even know you existed.”

 

Wanda narrows her eyes yet Donovan could see her remembering her younger years.

 

“I allowed you to rant because you suffered from loss and trauma but maybe it was my mistake. Because afterward, you begin spewing the most hateful and disgusting things I have ever heard from a child.” He takes a deep breath as he stares at her. “Do you remember that day?”

 

Wanda frowns but nods, her hands caressing each other as she felt a phantom pain on her right cheek.

 

“You slapped me,” she finally replies. “I was saying how I wished death on Stark and that one I would hope to kill him and destroy everything he cared about. Then you slapped me.”

 

The man nodded. “Yes and afterward what did I say to you?”

Wanda swallows as she tried to remember the words. “Let my anger be righteous and true. That if I continued that line of thinking,  I would go down a path that will consume me and those I cared about. I would dig a grave for my enemy and myself…”

 

Donovan nods. “If this world was indeed black and white, I would have agreed that Stark would have to pay. However, just like I have no control over people who take the bible’s word and interpret into their own way, Stark had no control over who and how his weapons were used.”

 

“It is still his fault,” Wanda almost screams. “His weapons-”

 

“Did not cause the Civil War, Wanda. Wars are started by ideas, wrong slights, a country looking into another country and saying that I want what they have.” Donovan takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes. “Weapons are created just to give both sides firepower. Whether if its a bomb or a crossbow, even a pencil- it is about the potential of the individual using it.”

 

He places his glasses on the table and sighs. “In your quickness to condemn Stark, does that mean you would go after other defense contractors?” Seeing the confusion on Wanda’s face, Donovan reiterates his question. “Stark is not the only person who made weapons used in the war. His was popular but it wasn’t cheap. Are you going after Northrop Grumman? Mitsubishi? L3 Technologies? I believe Roll Royce and General Dynamics offers the use of their weapons.”

 

Wanda stares at Donovan, trying to keep her fury down.

 

“Of course my question is, why go after the bomb maker when you could have gone after those who actually fired the weapons?”

 

It was quiet for a moment which made the atmosphere even tense considering that Wanda was almost screaming her head off a few moments ago.

 

“I know why,” Donovan finally says. “You still hold onto child logic, never growing up. To the 10-year-old, Stark killed your parents because of a bomb he built. Again a child’s logic as the name always means ownership. However, you are no longer a little girl. You should have realized that while Stark is guilty of creating a weapon he is not guilty of its usage. By placing the blame on Stark, you have absolved your parent’s actual killers.”

 

Tears threaten to leave her eyes but Donovan continues speaking.

 

“In your rush to condemn a man that you called a monster, you yourself have become one. You and your brother allowed your hatred to burn in your madness until Nazis offered you power.” He slams his hand on the table. “Nazis! Most sane people wouldn’t dare to get mix up with such men and not only did you and your brother welcome such people, but you also allowed to them experiment on you!”

 

Donovan stands from his seat and pointed at her. “You discard the life that your parents gave you. That they died for. You have shamed them!”

 

More tears trail down Wanda’s face as she shakes her head, trying to deny his words.

 

The priest takes a deep breath before sitting, a frown now permanent on his face. “You could have done so much more with your life. You could have joined the peace corp, studied and became a spokesperson against weapons. You could have used your experience, your life story to make a difference. To yourself and others.  Something to offer a soothing balm to your souls but instead, you and your brother had become weapons.”

 

“You have taken innocent lives in your quest to destroy one man. You had gotten a taste of power and destruction and craved it. You have become the very person you claimed to hate and wished to see dead.”

 

By now Wanda is outright sobbing, though whether it's because of his words or the future she could have had, it is not known.

 

Donovan was slightly moved by her tears but kept to morals. She needed to understand what she had done even if it was futile.

 

“You said Stark is a monster and everyone now paints you as the same brush. The only difference between both of you is that when given a chance, he stepped up and admitted his guilt. He fixed his mistakes- albeit a little bit too late but he still shows that he’s using his time correct the wrongs he made.”

 

Sobs are erupting from Wanda. “I was trying to do the same thing-”

 

“But all the people know you for is because of destruction. First because of the being Ultron and then Lagos-”

 

“I was trying to help people, to save them!”

 

Donovan was quiet for a moment. “Yes, it could be argued that you were trying to help people at the time. However to those people you quickly condemn as frightening masses, they are allowed to hold onto their fear when it's justified.”

 

He folded his hands on the table as he continued speaking. “Just as you held onto your fear of Stark’s bomb finally killing you, innocent people can be justified in their fear of your powers when all they have ever seen is its destructive force. Even worse, whereas your story would move some people to your cause, your actions leave you with no allies. People do not sympathize with a murderer who believes that the world is against her and has shown no remorse for the lives she has taken.”

Wanda sniff, tears still trailing down her cheeks as she looked away. “What more could I have done?”

 

“You could have accepted your punishment. Showed true remorse and gotten help. The Avengers enabled you by not allowing you to face your crimes.”

 

“I lost Pietro, that should have been punishment enough!”

 

Donovan narrows his eyes. “And what about the people that lost their loved ones? Sokovia? Johannesburg? You are so quick to point out your suffering that you neglect that you had a hand in others. You seek vengeance for your parent’s deaths and yet when others do the same for your actions, you claim ignorance and unjust fear. It is hypocritical.”

 

Wanda says nothing, instead, she places her forehead onto the table’s surface. “What’s the point of telling me all this now,” she asks.

 

The Father reaches over and grasps her hands, the first human touch she has had in months. “Because tomorrow night, you will be put to death for your sins. You will be executed and a majority of the world will celebrate it.”

 

Wand tries to pull away, but Donovan held fast. “I want you to spend your last night, going through every action that you did and wonder to yourself if it was worth all of this? Were the pain and suffering worth not knowing peace and not having a family or friend to remember you fondly by?”

 

Wanda sniffs but there is some type of emotion in her eye that Donovan couldn’t pinpoint.

 

“Wanda, ever since the bomb fell and killed your parents, you have never known peace. All you and your brother have felt was a sorrow which turns to rage and anger. And it grew and grew, being fed by your child logic and then by others who would seek to use you. Even the Avengers are not excused from enabling you. Soon you felt as if every action you have done was absolved and that you were right to feel and do what you wanted.”

 

Wanda snorts. “Peace is a lie-”

 

“And yet that is what you desire. You're not frightened because you are about to die. I believe death is a relief for you. It is freedom, no matter how morbid it is.”

 

Donovan forces Wanda to look at him. “You cannot receive your freedom- it's too late for that. However, I came by to offer you two things: truth and peace. It is up to you if you wish to partake that.”

 

A shiver went through Wanda as she narrows her eyes. “So what? Are you going to ask me to do several Hail Mary’s and I get to heaven?”

 

An eyebrow is raised before Donovan speaks. “Do you know what they plan to do with your body after they execute you?” He continues on, ignoring her curious expression. “They will take your body and burn it to make sure no one else can experiment on it and try to replicate the same process that gave you your powers. Your ashes will be scattered across the ocean and after that, you will be written off as a bad dream.”

 

A small gasp escapes from Wanda’s lips before she could stop herself.

 

Donovan gives her a sad smile. “As I said, you don’t fear death. You fear of not being remembered, of not leaving the impact you wanted. You wanted to help people but instead, you will be remembered as the woman who destroyed. No one will mourn you and no one will think of you fondly.”

 

Wanda licks her lips as she tries to stifle the sob in her throat. “And yet you’re here. What does that mean?”

 

The priest gave a small chuckle. “It means that there is a part of me that cares for you- even though I shouldn’t. You must pay for your sins with your life as the law dictates. However, I will admit that I will mourn the little girl that I carried to the church and mourn the woman you could have been. You had potential, I could see it in your eyes. But you have led astray and I believed if I had taken you away from Sokovia, from all the negative influence, maybe Pietro would still be alive. Maybe you would have had a different outcome. You would have found your peace…”

 

The woman was shaking again and sobs erupt from her throat. “I don’t want to die alone,” Wanda finally admits. “I want… I want someone to be with me when I-” More sobs came from her as she finds she couldn’t say the words.

 

The priest pats her hands again. “I got permission from the Sokovia government and the U.N. to be with you when it happens. I’m to give you your last rites and pray for your soul before your execution.”

 

Wanda gives a slow nod as she accepts her fate and the priest’s hands as he wipes away her tears. “Will you… will you stay with me all the way to the end?”

 

Father Donovan gives her a nod. “Of course.”

 

“Will you remember me,” she ask. “Not as I am now but…. But as the little girl who just wanted her parents back? Will you remember Pietro as he once was?”

 

He again nods his heads. “Yes.” He stares at her. “Will you go to your death in peace?”

 

Wanda stares at Father Donovan for a moment and gives him her answer.

 

**-FIN-**

 

 


	2. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A story idea for a later time

Hey guys, 

how is everyone doing?

 

So I didn't think this story would still attract this many of a fanbase considering when it comes Wanda, I have difficulty expressing how I feel. Again I wanted to like her, but the MCU did her character dirty. She didn't have to be a perfect heroine but give her a redemptive character arc and I think many females would love to have. Her characterization is all over the place and while I understand she is trying to figure out where she belongs and what she could do, the way MCU did it not only affected her future but others.

Anyway, I recently had an idea of a Wanda Maximoff redemption story- done the right way. It would involve days after the Ultron incident and her reaction of not being welcome back to Sokovia, the Avengers inviting her to the team but it is put on hold because court cases are building up against her. And instead of them getting them thrown, she actually has to present herself to the court. It is her start of the redemption arc she should have- it is going to be ugly and terrible but with the lawyer I'm thinking of giving her it might help her become a better woman.

 

If anyone is interested in reading this, let me know. And if anyone is willing to beta this story with me, contact me, please.

 


End file.
